Horse Race Exacta Bets

The exacta wager is just at it sounds. A horseplayer has to pick the exact order of the first two finishers in a horse race.

Horse race exacta betting is the most popular type of betting in horse racing. It is tougher than hitting the more traditional bets (win, place, and show), but easier than the more complicated exotic wagers like trifectas and superfectas.

The exacta wager can still pay huge. Ask anyone that had the exacta in the 2005 Kentucky Derby. Giacomo (50/1) combined with Closing Argument (71/1) for a $2 exacta that returned $9,814.

Boxing three or four horses is only a good strategy if you think each of the contenders has roughly the same chance of winning the race.

If not, using a exacta key may be a better option and be a smarter way to use your wagering bankroll.

The Exacta Key

For most horseplayers, using an exacta key strategy when doing your online horse exacta betting is a more viable option.

Instead of simply boxing three contenders in the exacta for $12, your bankroll could be put to better use if you can key in on one or two horses.

You could use the $12 to key one horse:

1 over 2,3,4,5,6,7 =$12

Or key two horses:

1,2 over 1,2,3,4 = $12

Using that strategy gives you more horses in the second spot, giving you more coverage if your key horses find their way to the winner’s circle.

Another strategy to consider is weighting your tickets according to the probabilities you feel the horses have of winning and running second.

Rank the horses you like for the second spot and bet accordingly. If you are using the #1 as your key horse and feel the #2 has twice the chance of #3 of landing second, you could split up your $12 wager this way: